Tripping device for overhead carriers.



J. H. PETERS; TRIPPING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD CARRIERS;

APPLICATION FILED 0013.21, 1909.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

2 SBEETFSHEBT 1.

J. H. PETERS.

- TRIPPING DEVICE FOR OVERHEAD CARRIERS. APPLICATION FILED 001'. 21, 1909.

985,056. Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

JOHN H. rn rnns,

jiFFTC.

OF RICE LAKE, WISCONSIN.

TRIPPING DEVICE FOR, OVERHEAD CARRIERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

Application filed Gctober 21, 1909. Serial No. 523,921.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known. that 1, JOHN H. PETERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rice Lake, in the county of Barron and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tripping Devices for Overhead Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to overhead carriers such as are used in telpher systems, and particularly to that type of carrier which is supported on pulleys or sheaves from an overhead track or cable, the'carrier being normally held in aposition of unstable equilibrium, but adapted to be released to permit it to overturn and dump.

The object of the invention is to provide means for automatically dumping a carrier of this type at any predetermined pointin its travel.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved carrier; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the tripping devices and one end of the bucket; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the bucket and the tripping devices; and, Fig. 4 is an enlarged face view of the tripping devices.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these figures, 2 designates a supporting frame such as ordinarily used on carriers of this type, and 3 the carrier bucket having trunnions 4 at each end which are rotatably supported in the bearings 5 on the downwardly extending arms of the frame 2, said bearings being located below the center of gravity of the bucket, so that the bucket shall be normally held in a position of unstable equilibrium, and so that when the bucket is released, it will overturn.

To opposite ends of the supporting frame 2 are attached the upwardly extending hangers G and 9 which at their upper ends are bent over upon the main body of the hanger, as at 7, for the purpose of providing opposed bearings for the supporting wheels 8. Pivotally mounted at its middle upon one of the hangers, as the hanger- 9, is the lever 10 which is forked at its upper end and which is pivoted at 11. The forked end of the lever is engaged by a cam 12 mounted upon the shaft 9* of the supporting wheel 8, so that as the supporting wheel rotates, the lever will be reciprocated. The lower end of the lever carries upon it the pawl 13 which engages with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 14.

Mounted upon the pivotal center of the lever 10 is the pawl 15 which also engages with the ratchet teeth and prevents any backward movement of the wheel 14. It will be seen that a reciprocating motion of the lever 10 will cause a step-by-step rotation of the ratchet wheel 14 in the direetion of the arrow. The ratchet wheel 14 is provided upon its face with a series of perforations 16 and also provided with a scale. In the drawing, the scale is shown as being provided with indicia indicating the number of feet which the carrier will travel for one complete revolution of the ratchet wheel 14, but I do not wish to be limited to this feature, as some other unit of measure might be used, without depart-- ing from the spirit of the invention.

18 designates a but-ton which has a shank adapted to be placed in any one of the holes 16 so that the button may be set at any point upon the circumference of the wheel 14, this button, however may be cast solidly upon the wheel.

Attached to the frame 2, or at any other convenient location, is a spring 19 whose free end resiliently engages the teeth of the wheel 14 to prevent the wheel from overrunning more than one notch or step for each actuation of the pawl 13. Also pivoted upon the lower end of the hanger, or upon the frame in any convenient position, is the tripping lever 20 which has the form of a bell crank lever, one arm of which projects up into the path of the button 18 so as to be actuated thereby, said arm forming a pointer, while the other arm projects outward and is connected by a link 22 to a latch 23. A stop 21 prevents the lever from dropping out of proper position. The latchv 23 is pivoted at its middle to the downwardly projecting arm of the frame 2 and at its inner end engages with a lug 25 on the end of the bucket, this lug projecting from a plate which is riveted upon the said end of the bucket. A spring 26 draws down ward upon the outer end of the latch 23 so as to force its inner extremity into engagement with the lug.

The operation of my invention will be evident from what has gone'before. The button 18 is to be placed at zero, for instance, and then the ratchet wheel may be turned to bring the upwardly projecting pointed end of the tripping lever 20 in registry with anyone of the numbers on the scale. Each tooth upon the scale is equal to one foot traveled by. the sheave 9 and'as a consequence, with the button set at zero and the tripping lever pointing to, say, the numeral 50', theycarrier will travel 50 feet before the button will come in contact with the triplever, causing the bucket to dump atthis point. As soon asthe latchis operated by means of the triplever, the weight of the bucket will causethe bucket to overturn in a manner usual to carriers of this type. It will'be obvious that a plurality of buttons 18 may be used and that they maybe set at various points around the wheel 14, thus tripping the carrier at a plurality of positions, or the trip button may be made solid with the Wheel 14 and located at the point zero thereon. In order to provide means for lifting the pawl 13,

in case the carrier is pushed to within a few feet of the point where it isset to dump, I may provide the means shown in Fig. 4: consisting of a bell crank lever 28 which is pivoted at the junction of the bifurcated lever 10. The upwardly extending end'of' this lever is normally held in the path of movement of the cam 12, while the outwardly extending end of the lever is attached by a flexible connection 29 to the pawl 13. A spring 30 holds the upwardly projecting end of the lever normally in a middle position between the two arms of [the bifurcated lever 10. Pivoted to a lug projecting from one arm of the bifurcated lever 10'is a catch 31' having the form of a bell crank, the downwardly extending arm of which engages with the lever 28, the outwardly extending arm being sufliciently Weighted so that the notched end of the catch will be forced into engagement with the lever. This lever 28 will lift the pawl 13 out .of engagement with the ratchet wheel on the first backward revolution of the carrier wheeland hold it in this position until it is again set to dump by the in a closed path and actuated by the travel r of the carrier, and a trip-engaging element independently adjustable upon and with relation to the tripping member and adapted to engage the said trip to release it and permit the deposition of the load.

2. In a carrier of the character described, a bucket, a trip holding the bucket in unstable equilibrium, a trip member moving 1n a closed path and actuated by the movement of the carrier in its travel, and a tripengaging member independent-1y adjustable upon and with relation to the tripping member and adapted to engage the said trip to feleiase it and permit the deposition of the 3. In a carrier, at supporting Wheel, a cam rotatable on the supporting wheel, a toothed tripping wheel, a pawl engaging the teeth of the tripping wheel and reciprocated by said cam to give the tripping wheel a stepby-step rotation, and a trip normally holding the bucket in a position of unstable equilibrium but actuated by the arrival of the tripping wheel at a predetermined pointin its rotation to unlatch said bucket and permit it to overturn.

4. In a carrier of the class described, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a cam rotatable therewith, a tripping wheel, a pawl reciprocated by said cam to give the tripping wheel a step-by-step rotation, a. stud projecting from the tripping wheel, a latch holding the bucket in a position of unstable equilibrium, and a trip engaging said latch and adapted to be engaged by the stud on the tripping wheel at a predetermined point in its rotation to unlatch the bucket.

5. In a carrier of the class described, a

bucket, a trip holding the bucket in unstable equilibrium, a tripping. member mounted on the carrier and actuated by the movement of the carrier on its travel, and

a trip-engaging element adjustably mounted upon the tripping mechanism and shiftable upon the same and in relation thereto and adapted in its movement to engage the said trip to release the bucket.

6. In a carrier of the class described, a bucket, a trip holding the bucket in unstable equilibrium, a tripping member mounted 011 the carrier and actuated by the movement of the carrier in its travel, and a trip-engaging element adj ustably mounted upon the tripping member and shiftable upon the same and in relation thereto, the said tripping member being provided with a series of indicia indicating the proper adjustment of the tripping element in order to trip the carrier after the carrier has moved a predetermined number of feet.

7. In a carrier of the class described, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a tripping wheel, means for giving a rotation to the tripping wheel by the rotation of the supporting wheel, a trip normally engaging the bucket to hold it in an upright position, and a projecting trip-engaging element adjustably mounted upon the tripping wheel but independently movable thereof around the same and adapted to engage the trip to release the bucket.

' 8. In a carrier of the class described, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a cam rotatable with the wheel, a lever to be reciprocated thereby, a toothed tripping wheel, a pawl on the lever engaging with the tripping wheel, a stud projecting from the tripping wheel, a latch engaging with the bucket to hold it in a position of unstable equilibrium, and a tripping device projecting into the path of movement of the stud.

9. In a carrier, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a cam mounted on the shaft of the supporting wheel and rotatable therewith, a lever engaging with the cam to be reciprocated thereby, a tripping wheel having circumferential teeth, a pawl on the lever engaging with the teeth to rotate the tripping wheel one step for each revolution of the supporting wheel, a stud projecting from the tripping wheel, a latch engaged with the bucket to hold it in a position of unstable equilibrium, alever connected to the latch and having one end thereof projecting into the path of movement of the stud, and means for preventing backward movement of the tripping wheel.

10. In a carrier, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a cam rotatable with the supporting wheel, a lever having a forked end engaging with the cam to be reciprocated upon each revolution of the supporting wheel, a tripping wheel having circumferential teeth, a pawl on the lever engaging with the teeth, a stud projecting from the tripping wheel, a bell crank lever having one arm thereof projecting into the path of movement of the stud, a latch engaging with the bucket to hold it in a position of unstable equilibrium, a spring holding the latch in engagement, and a connection from the latch to said tripping wheel.

11. In a carrier of the character described, a bucket, a tripping wheel, means for rotating the tripping wheel in correspondence with the movement of the carrier, a projecting member mounted on but adjustable around the tripping wheel independently thereof. and a trip normally holding the bucket in an upright position but projecting into the path of movement of the projecting element on the tripping wheel.

12. In a carrier, supporting wheels, a bucket, hangers extending from the supporting wheels to the bucket, a cam mounted upon the shaft of one of the supporting wheels and rotatable therewith, a tripping wheel mounted upon said hanger, a lever pivoted to the hanger and having a forked end engaging with said cam, a pawl car ried upon the other end of the lever and engaging with the teeth of said tripping wheel, a pawl carried upon the pivot of the lever and engaged with the teeth of the tripping wheel to prevent a backward rotation thereof, a tripping lever pivoted to the hanger and having the shape of a bell crank, one end of said lever projecting over the tripping wheel, a stud on the tripping wheel engageable with the lever to operate the same, a pivoted latch engaging with the bucket to hold it in a position of unstable equilibrium, and a connection between said latch and said tripping lever.

13. I11 a carrier of the class described, supporting wheels, hangers depending from the supporting wheels, a bucket pivoted in said hangers, a tripping wheel, means for giving a. step-by-step rotation to the tripping wheel upon a rotation of the support ing wheel, a stud projecting from the bucket, a latch pivoted to one of the hangers, the inner end of the latch engaging said stud, a spring holding said latch in engagement, a tripping lever mounted adjacent to the tripping wheel and adapted to be actuated by the arrival of the tripping wheel at a predetermined point, a connection between said lever and the latch, means for preventing a backward movement of the tripping lever, and a resilient means engaging the tripping wheel to prevent its overrunning.

14. In a carrier, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a tripping wheel, means for giving an intermittent rotation to the tripping wheel upon each complete rotation of the supporting wheel, a trip actuated by the ar-. rival of the tripping wheel at a predetermined point in its rotation, said trip normally holding the bucket in a position of unstable equilibrium, and means for prevent ing the actuation of the tripping wheel upon a rotation of the supporting wheel.

15. In a carrier of the class described, a supporting wheel, a bucket, a cam rotatable therewith, a tripping wheel, a pawl reciprocated by said cam to give the tripping wheel a step-by-step rotation, a latch holding the bucket in a position of unstable equilibrium, and a trip engaging said latch and adapted to be engaged by a projecting portion of the tripping wheel at a predetermined point in its rotation to unlatch the bucket, means actuated upon a backward rotation of the cam for raising the pawl out of engagement with the tripping wheel, and a catch for holding said pawl in a raised position.

16. In a carrier of the class described, sup porting wheels, a bucket, hangers extending from the supporting wheels to the bucket, a cam mounted upon the shaft of one of the supporting wheels and rotatable therewith, a tripping wheel mounted upon one of said hangers, a lever pivoted to the hanger and having a forked end engaged by said cam, a pawl carried upon the other end of the lever and engaging with the teeth of the tripping wheel, --atripping lever pivoted" to the hanger, one end thereof projecting over the tripping wheel, means on the tripping wheel engageable with the lever to operate the same, a pivoted latch engaging with the bucket to hold it ina position of unstable said lastnained arm and the said-pawl, a

spring for holding the bell crank lever in its;

normal position, and aweight-actuated latch pivoted to the forked leverand adapted to engage the extremity of the bell crank= lever when the same is raised by areverse movement of the cam. v 17. In a carrier of the class described, a bucket, a supporting wheel, a tripping plete rotation of'the supporting'wheel, a

trip holding the bucket in a position of unstable equilibrium, and a circumferentially 7 adjustable stud disposed upon-the tripping wheel and independently adjustable there= around to various positions and adapted to engagethe trip to release the bucket, said 4g 7 V V 1-: 985,056

tripping wheel-lbeingprovided with -a circumferential seriesof indicia indicating the 18. In a carrier of thecharacter described a supporting wheel, a bucket supported in unstable equilibrium, a tripping mechanism operating to trip the bucket, and adjustable indicating means indicating the distance the carrier is to travel-before the bucket will be tripped. I

119. In a carrier of the character described, a supporting wheel, a tripping wheel provided with indicia ,onits fiLCG,'l11GCl12ll1lSl11 for giving an intermittent'rotation to the tripping Wheel'upon each complete rotation of the supporting wheel, a'bucket supported -inunstable equilibrium, a latch for the -bucketradapted -to be-actuated by the trip- 1 ping wheel,'and a pointer co-acting with the -numbers on the'tripping Wheel and therewheel,means for giving an intermittent rotation to the trippingwheel upon each comwith indicating the d-istance'the carrier is to travel-before the trippingv wheel will trip the bucket-latch. I

- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

.JOHN H. PETERS. [11. s.] WitnesSes:

EMAR OPrERUoL,

-FRANK SKINNER. 

